Pop 'playing games' could've been strategy

NBA commissioner David Stern swears Gregg Popovich was “playing games” when he sent Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green back to San Antonio from Orlando rather than play them in Miami in November.

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So certain was Stern that Popovich had thumbed his nose at the league and its TV partners, he fined the Spurs $250,000.

Here's another hardly outlandish theory: Did Popovich foresee a Spurs-Heat NBA Finals and want to find out which of his role players could be trusted to compete against the defending champions?

Gary Neal played more than 32 minutes and led the Spurs with 20 points in a game they had a legitimate chance to steal.

Don't doubt Popovich made a mental note that Neal was not intimidated by LeBron James and Co. Got a better explanation for Neal playing an average of almost 23 minutes per game in the Finals and scoring 24 points in Game 3?

Neal doesn't.

“The opportunity I had and a couple other guys had when Coach Pop sent everybody home is big for guys like us,” he said. “We showed we can play against that type of talent and perform well. That just instills confidence in you and in the rest of the coaching staff and players that you are a guy that can play 25 minutes, and they don't have to have their fingers crossed.”

Stern asserts he knows Popovich was “playing games” by sending his stars back to San Antonio. Further, the commissioner said Popovich knows it, too.

Doubt this assertion at your peril: Trying to deduce what Popovich is thinking is an exercise in vanity.